Chapter 9 Director Li
Xue Rui was stunned at first; he didn't understand why the teacher was looking at him that way.
It wasn't until he remembered that he was a student now that he threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stepped on it to extinguish it, smiled slightly at the male teacher, and nodded, saying, "Hello, Teacher."
Qiu Mengze also noticed the male teacher immediately, and his mind instantly went blank. He subconsciously wanted to hide the cigarette, but how do you hide a lit cigarette?
He hurriedly put his hand behind his back, then felt it was inappropriate. Stuff it under the quilt? That wouldn't work either. In the end, he simply threw the cigarette butt directly under the bed.
He nervously lowered his head, not daring to meet the male teacher's gaze, constantly praying in his heart: "Go away, go away..."
Xue Rui's soul was more mature; he didn't think this was a big deal. So what if a teacher saw him smoking? What's the big deal?
Qiu Mengze, on the other hand, had a typical student mindset. Being caught red-handed by a teacher made him feel like the sky was falling, and he instinctively wanted to escape.
The bald male teacher saw Xue Rui calmly extinguish the cigarette butt and even smile and greet him.
He was a little surprised. He had never seen such a steady student, just like those old hands in society.
He then saw Qiu Mengze, who was also smoking, startled like a rabbit in a panic.
He nodded with satisfaction; this reaction was normal. His authority was not to be questioned.
It wasn't until he saw Qiu Mengze throw the cigarette butt under the bed that his expression suddenly became serious.
Xue Rui, seeing Qiu Mengze hide the cigarette butt under the bed, also frowned.
As an old smoker, Xue Rui knew that the most basic bottom line for smokers was safety awareness.
A cigarette butt must be extinguished within sight to be considered a complete smoking process, and Qiu Mengze clearly did not follow this process.
Xue Rui picked up the broom, pulled the burning cigarette butt out from under the bed, and stepped on it a few times until it was completely extinguished.
The male teacher glanced at Xue Rui, nodded slightly, and then reprimanded Qiu Mengze, "Come out!"
Qiu Mengze lowered his head, fidgeting, and stood behind Xue Rui.
He secretly congratulated himself, glad that he had also lit one for Xue Rui, otherwise he really wouldn't know what to do.
With Xue Rui getting punished with him, Qiu Mengze felt much more at ease.
"Why are you standing behind him? I called you!" the male teacher repeated.
When Qiu Mengze heard this, his mind went blank.
Why? He and Xue Rui both had cigarettes, so why was only he called and not Xue Rui?
Was it because Xue Rui's aunt was a teacher? Because Xue Rui was well-known in school?
In an instant, many guesses flashed through Qiu Mengze's mind. He didn't understand why Xue Rui always received special treatment.
In fact, Qiu Mengze's guesses were all wrong. The reason for this situation was simply the difference in how the two handled their cigarette butts.
"Who told you to smoke in the dormitory? Does the school allow smoking? What if it causes a fire?" The male teacher scolded him for a long time.
Qiu Mengze lowered his head and remained silent, shrinking his shoulders as he took the scolding, thinking that after the lecture, everything would be fine, and this matter would pass by tomorrow.
Many students were watching in the hallway, some with surprised expressions, others gloating.
The teacher saw that Qiu Mengze clearly hadn't realized his mistake, which made him waste so much breath. He took out his phone and said coldly, "Who is your Class Teacher? Call him and tell him my name is Li Jianfeng, and also call your parents!"
Didn't the school teachers know about students smoking?
Wrong, the school knew early on, but just didn't want to deal with it, or rather, didn't need to.
In this era, students smoking was quite common, and such things simply couldn't be prohibited.
As long as they weren't smoking in broad daylight and didn't affect the school's image, it was fine as long as appearances were kept.
So, being discovered by a teacher was not a very serious matter; as long as one's attitude was sincere and one actively admitted the mistake, it would be fine.
However, Qiu Mengze not only failed to admit his mistake immediately but also threw the cigarette butt into an uncontrollable place. This action truly posed a safety threat to the school, and this was what the male teacher could not tolerate.
As for calling parents? Xue Rui believed that Li Jianfeng initially didn't intend to call them, but too many students were gathered in the hallway watching, and Qiu Mengze didn't even publicly admit his mistake. Li Jianfeng had no way out and could only choose to call the parents.
In fact, this was the difference between teachers and students.
Li Jianfeng felt that Qiu Mengze made him lose face.
But in reality? The students watching here didn't even realize that "someone lost face"; instead, they thought this teacher was very fierce and that they should never offend him in the future.
Li Jianfeng was thinking about his situation with an adult's mindset, and Qiu Mengze didn't understand this "unspoken rule," which led to this scene.
"Director Li, I really know I was wrong, please don't call my parents..." Qiu Mengze finally couldn't hold back anymore, his psychological defenses completely collapsed, and tears streamed down his face.
"Too late, make the call!" Li Jianfeng showed no mercy.
Just then, Xue Rui sighed lightly, shaking his head with a bitter smile.
He took three packs of zhonghua from under his pillow, put them in his pocket, walked behind Qiu Mengze, and kicked him hard.
"Director Li, he's always like this, can't squeeze out more than a few words in half a day."
This middle-aged teacher clearly wasn't an ordinary substitute teacher; he at least held a special position, and it wasn't a low one.
These details could be seen from Li Jianfeng's jacket and his walking demeanor, so Xue Rui changed his address to Director.
Anyway, in such matters, calling someone by a higher title was always correct.
"Director?"
"Is that teacher a Director?"
The surrounding students whispered, their voices full of surprise, but after watching for a long time, they still couldn't recognize which grade's Director he was.
"Hmm... what's your name?" Li Jianfeng looked at the reactions of the surrounding students and glanced at Xue Rui with appreciation.
He was the Director of Logistics, but the Logistics Department didn't directly interact with students. Only teachers with official positions in the school understood what his position meant, thus respectfully addressing him as "Director Li."
Students, on the other hand, had no idea how high his position was. Most of the time, they treated him as an ordinary teacher, sometimes even as someone who repaired water pipes or a gatekeeper uncle...
It was the first time Li Jianfeng had been called Director by a student, and he felt an indescribable comfort in his heart.
"Class Two of Senior Two, Xue Rui," Xue Rui said with a grin, then pushed Qiu Mengze a few times: "Quickly apologize to Director Li."
"Director Li, I was wrong," Qiu Mengze said honestly.
Li Jianfeng shook his head helplessly. How could the gap between students be so wide?
"Director Li, his parents are actually working out of town, and at this time, they're probably still on the night shift at the factory. Only his grandparents are at home, and the Old Lady and Old Man are so old, let's not bother them." Xue Rui blurted out a lie.
Qiu Mengze's parents actually sold fish in Hedong City, but Xue Rui said this with a purpose.
He deliberately emphasized "out of town," "night shift," and "elderly" to make Li Jianfeng reluctant to call Qiu Mengze's parents.
Then he smiled and put several packs of zhonghua into Li Jianfeng's hand, saying seriously, "We know we were wrong and are voluntarily handing over the contraband to Director Li for disposal."
Xue Rui had long noticed that Li Jianfeng's index fingernail was slightly yellow, which proved that Li Jianfeng also smoked regularly.
"I'll confiscate these packs of cigarettes. Xue Rui... is a good child." Li Jianfeng nodded, completely ignoring Qiu Mengze, and instead patted Xue Rui lightly on the shoulder a few times.
Before leaving, he added, "I am Li Jianfeng, Director of the Logistics Department."
He had his way out, he had his dignity, and he received a few packs of zhonghua. Li Jianfeng felt that filling in for Old Wang today was indeed a good choice.